The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) meeting rooms are named ‘Zen’, ‘Inspiration’ and other such uplifting words. But working there could feel otherwise, if not for Ms L Magaeish Sri, 42.

Every morning, the Support Service Officer in Management Services Division works like the invisible elves in the shoemaker’s fairy tale. She opens the doors to the office, checks the room booking system and prepares meeting rooms accordingly.

Ms Magaeish has a “never-failed” record of arriving at 7 am to open the doors for cleaners and early-bird colleagues, though her official reporting time is 730 am. Business hours begin at 8 am.

She is usually the first to reach the office, but once arrived to find a staff member already waiting for the doors to be opened. “Maybe he wanted to escape the ERP charges,” she joked.

Her main duties are sorting outgoing mail and other administrative work, but she also spruces up the meeting rooms and staff lounge, keeps them stocked with refreshments, and distributes personal office stationery to staff monthly.

Last year, Ms Magaeish “put [herself ] in the position to help out” for maintenance, going beyond her work scope to do routine checks on light bulbs and machines. “If there is any breakdown, I’ll quickly make a call so it does not interrupt the staff ’s work.”

“I try to do more than what I’m given to help others and at the same time I can learn. If I just do the same thing all the time, I won’t be adding value to the organisation,” she says.

Touched to be nominated as an Unsung Hero, Ms Magaeish calls it a highlight of her 11 years of service. “I was not aware that someone really appreciated my work. It is something very unforgettable to me, that they recognise my work.”